US, Israel prepare for renewed strikes on Iran after midterms, report says

The U.S. and Israeli militaries have drawn up detailed plans to resume strikes on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections on November 3, The New York Times reported early Thursday, citing American officials and sources familiar with the discussions. According to the report, preparations are advancing for a "short but intensive" operation that would likely include strikes on nuclear and energy facilities, as well as missile and drone systems. The Times also reported that some U.S. officials believe an intensive three-day offensive "could cause enough economic damage to change the Iranian position." Iranian officials, meanwhile, are threatening to target data centers and undersea internet cables this time, warning that the confrontation would not be short. The Times noted that the United States has not yet made a decision to launch an attack. On Wednesday, the Financial Times reported that the IDF had prepared for several days of fighting with Iran about a week and a half earlier, but U.S. President Donald Trump opposed resuming hostilities before the midterm elections and blocked the operation. According to that report, the planned targets included civilian infrastructure in the Islamic Republic, such as power plants, nuclear facilities and other regime targets. Axios reported Wednesday, citing Israeli and American officials, that dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets had conducted an operational sortie Monday, flying as far as the vicinity of Iran's border. The sortie, which took place about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from Israel, came a week before the elections and on the same day that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Ovda Air Base. According to the report, the sortie was unrelated to Hegseth's visit. Meanwhile, following Netanyahu's statement that Tehran was once again trying to develop its weapons of death" and reports that Trump had thwarted an Israeli strike on Iran, U.S. officials told Reuters that the State Department planned to evacuate some diplomatic personnel and their families from Saudi Arabia. According to the officials, the move stemmed from concerns about renewed fighting, particularly involving the Houthis in Yemen. NBC News subsequently reported that the U.S. military had "quietly" reduced its troop presence at bases across the Middle East in recent days, while the State Department had ordered further reductions in staffing at several diplomatic posts in the region. The report cited two U.S. officials and two sources familiar with the matter. According to the sources, the reductions were similar to those made in U.S. military and diplomatic staffing around the start of the war with Iran in February and came in response to continuing threats in the region, including from Iran. The sources said troops had been withdrawn from bases in Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait, among other countries. Israeli and American officials told Axios that the sortie, which involved dozens of fighter jets and aerial refueling aircraft, was not unusual and was intended to deter the Islamic Republic. However, they acknowledged that it could have led to a "miscalculation," triggered an Iranian response and reignited the war. The flight path followed a potential route for a strike on Iran, passing through Syrian and Iraqi airspace. As the aircraft approached the Iranian border, they changed course and returned to Israel. U.S. officials said the Israelis knew that Iran's air defense systems would detect the sortie. According to the sources, Israel had notified the United States in advance, describing the operation as an exercise intended to demonstrate military strength and deter Iran from attacking Israel ahead of the elections. However, several American sources said they had the impression that Israel hoped the Iranians would fire on the aircraft, thereby providing a justification for launching strikes against Iran.